Transcordilleras is a gravel event series set in the coffee-growing Andes highlands of Antioquia, Colombia, and the 3 Stages edition is a structured multi-day format covering 265 kilometres with 7,700 metres of climbing through the mountains around Jardin — a small, well-preserved colonial town in the southern Antioqueno highlands. Jardin sits at about 1,750 metres elevation, surrounded by steep mountain slopes covered in banana trees, coffee plantations, and native cloud forest. The three stages are run over three consecutive days, giving riders the experience of multi-day racing with fixed start points and accommodation in town each night — a format that differs from the fully unsupported Nonstop edition in the same series. The terrain is characteristic of this part of the Andes: roads that start at river valleys and climb immediately and steeply to ridge lines, with gradients that regularly exceed 15-20% and surfaces that mix paved sections with rough gravel tracks and traditional coffee-farm roads. The wider Transcordilleras series includes formats ranging from the Nonstop ultra to longer staged editions, all rooted in the same extraordinary Antioquian landscape. Colombia's cycling culture runs deep — this is the country that produced Nairo Quintana, Egan Bernal, and Rigoberto Uran — and the Transcordilleras reflects that heritage with a demanding and thoughtfully designed route.
Based on this event's terrain, difficulty and riding style.
Riders taking on Transcordilleras 3 Stages will cover 265 km and climb roughly 7700 m over the course of the route.
A Gravel Bike is the right tool for Transcordilleras 3 Stages. Set it up with 45-50mm Tubeless rubber and gear it low — a 38-40T (1x) chainring and 10-51T cassette will keep you spinning on the steeper sections.
We rate Transcordilleras 3 Stages as Intermediate overall. Riders should be ready for rough, technical terrain for a good stretch of the route, steadily rolling, with a healthy amount of climbing elevation gain, and extremely hot, so heat management is a serious factor conditions.
Transcordilleras 3 Stages runs on August 15, 2026, placing it firmly in the summer riding season, with long daylight hours, though heat can become a real factor.
Transcordilleras 3 Stages runs primarily on gravel, and we'd recommend 45-50mm Tubeless tires to handle it comfortably.